The 25th Engineer Brigade of Military Region 9 (formerly the 25th Engineer Regiment) is the core unit in ensuring the engineering work for Military Region 9. After its establishment, during the dry season of 1976 - 1977, the Regiment completed the construction of the nearly 30-km-long “Eight Thousand” road, marking its first achievement, affirming the maturity in force organisation, command of construction on complicated canal terrain.

In late 1978, to protect the southwestern border, the Regiment was tasked with making roads and ensuring river crossings; building combat works, laying obstacles on the defence lines of Ha Tien, Chau Doc, Tinh Bien, Lac Quoi, Nui Sam, etc. Not fearing danger, its officers and soldiers stuck to the sites, kept the lines of communication clear, ensuring that the main units of the Military Region could attack, repel, and destroy the invaders, maintain the Fatherland's border, and carry out international missions, helping the Cambodian people escape the genocide. Having completed the combat mission, the Regiment focused on training, combat readiness, and performing search and rescue, disaster relief, anti-terrorism, building combat works, collecting and handling unexploded ordnances, etc.

The 16th Party Congress of the Brigade, 2025-2030 term

In 1991, the Regiment was upscaled into a brigade, marking its new development. With its new responsibilities, over the years, the Brigade has always promoted the spirit of solidarity, maintained the qualities of "Uncle Ho's Soldiers", the bravery and intelligence of the heroic Engineer troops that “first in, last out”, successfully completed the tasks of training, combat readiness, ensuring engineering for the Military Region, search and rescue, and anti-terrorism. Besides, it participated in the construction of dozens of combat works on the Southwestern border and islands and island clusters in the southernmost sea of ​​the Fatherland; successfully completed the task of searching, collecting, and handling hundreds of tons of unexploded ordnance left from the war, cleaning up thousands of hectares of land from pollution, making siginificant contributions to socio-economic development, building a solid defence posture, and a strong national defence posture in the Military Region.

With its outstanding achievements, the Brigade was awarded the title of Heroic Unit of the People's Armed Forces in the renewal period in 2004; First, Second and Third Class Military Exploit Orders; First, Second and Third Class Feat Orders; Third Class Fatherland Protection Order, along with many other noble awards.

Those results are attributed to many factors, in which promoting the tradition of "Opening the way to victory" of the heroic Engineering Troops is a great spiritual motivation for the Brigade to improve its overall quality and excellently complete its assigned tasks.

First of all, the Brigade has focused on leading and directing the implementation of the tasks of combat readiness, anti-terrorism, natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue. To make it highly effective, it regularly disseminates and seriously implements directives, orders, and plans of combat readiness of all levels to make its service members grasp the situation and tasks, clearly distinguish partners from adversaries, and heighten vigilance against sabotage schemes of hostile forces. In addition, it closely monitors and grasps the area, promptly supplement and adjust the combat documents and conducts training thoroughly. What’s more, it builds an elite anti-terrorism force and conducts training to enhance their level, command capacity, coordination and cooperation with local forces to respond to situations effectively, not to be made passive or surprised. It was highly appreciated for its preparation work, the level of readiness and situation handling in inspections.

Implementing Decision No. 535/QD-TTg dated 20 May 2023 of the Prime Minister on approving the Project "Developing and improving the capacity to respond to incidents, natural disasters, search and rescue until 2030, with a vision to 2045", the Brigade focuses on supplementing and completing plans to respond to incidents, natural disasters, search and rescue in a proactive manner. To undertake this important task, it builds a core force of young, competent, and healthy officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers, while promoting training to improve their capacity to master, exploit, and effectively use modern technical equipment and means; fully preparing mobile technical equipment and means (vehicles, boats, ferries, buoys, etc.) to be ready to perform tasks when ordered. Thereby, over the past 5 years, it has handled all incidents, natural disasters, and catastrophes promptly and effectively.

Conducting river-crossing training

To meet the increasingly high requirements of the cause of national construction and defence, the Brigade always identifies technical and tactical training in the field of engineering as the central task, the key step, and the foundation for successfully carrying out the assigned political tasks. Accordingly, it thoroughly briefs and directs the serious implementation of resolutions of all levels on leading combat training tasks and annual combat training orders of the MR9 Commander. Prior to each training season, it makes thorough preparation, ensuring all necessary facilities for each major, especially for specialised training. When conducts training, it regularly innovates methods to suit the characteristics of the watery terrain with the goal of improving technical and tactical engineering skills, mobility, ensuring construction works and preventing, combating, and overcoming natural disasters and incidents; exploiting and skillfully using the available weapons and equipment.

As for the forces participating in the construction of works, the Brigade requires them to use the “construction site as a training ground”; conduct shift and rotary training in a reasonable way. Theoretical contents are trained in the evening and during idle time. As for the forces responsible for river crossing, bomb and mine clearance, the squads conducting combat readiness, A2 missions, and search and rescue, the Brigade holds concentrated training with extra time for night training, field training, high-tech scenario-based training. Moreover, it organises and participates in command and staff exercises, and joint-force exercises. Training contents are focused on new and complicated ones which are relevant to combat reality, meeting the increasingly high requirements of modern warfare. Test results show that 100% of the results pass with over 75% being rated good and excellent. It successfully completed the exercise tasks and served the exercises of units and localities according to the plan of MR9 with absolute safety in all aspects.

Building defence works represents a highly demanding task that requires a high sense of responsibility and self-discipline. To fulfil this task well, the Brigade has seriously adhered to the motto of “Secrecy, safety, quality, progress, cost-effectiveness”; regularly innovated and improved organisational and command methods associated with the serious observance of safety regulations in construction. Construction is carried out in a scientific, strict, orderly manner in compliance with procedures, standards and design approved by competent authorities. At the same time, it strengthens inspection work, promptly correct signs of negligence, subjectivity and irresponsibility; promotes technical innovation and initiatives; promptly updates new and advanced measures; scientifically and effectively uses human resources, means, supplies, fuels and materials to improve productivity and quality of construction. After each project, it conducts review to overcome the shortcomings and supplement measures to improve construction quality and safety assurance. As a result, in the past term, the Brigade has finished construction of 45 projects on schedule with high quality and absolute safety.

Manning robot for clearing unexploded ordnance

The area of Military Region 9 has a large number of unexploded ordnance left over from the war that need to be handled. Conducting this combat mission in peacetime, every year, the Brigade clears and cleans an average of over 200 hectares of land contaminated with bombs and mines, and processes thousands of UXO of all kinds. This task is conducted mainly in remote areas, rugged terrain, and harsh weather conditions, which is dangerous but extremely noble. Accordingly, the Brigade conducts thorough brief of the directives of MR9, its tradition of that of the Engineer Corps to make its officers and soldiers always keep in their mind safety precautions, not to let any incidents occur. During the process of searching, collecting, and processing, it requires leaders and commanders at all levels to promote their leadership responsibility and make careful preparation. At the same time, it requires the forces directly involved to strictly follow the procedures and consider the absolute safety as top priority. As a result, since 2020 to date, it has destroyed nearly 45 tons of bombs, mines, and explosives and cleaned more than 1,000 hectares of land with absolute safety, contributing to the socio-economic development of localities in the Mekong Delta.

The glorious achievements during 50 years of development and combat provide a great source of pride and encouragement for generations of officers and soldiers of the Brigade today so that they constantly strive, train, overcome all difficulties, and excellently complete their political tasks, contributing to improving its overall quality, combat strength, embellishing its tradition, building a pure, strong and exemplary Party, and an all-strong “exemplary and typical” unit, making more feats in the new period.

Senior Colonel VI DUC HAN, Brigade Commander